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LONDON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Britain called on carmakers to end restrictions on where new cars may be serviced while under warranty, saying on Wednesday that existing arrangements could cost consumers up to 500 million pounds ($874 million) a year.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said that if carmakers did not comply it might launch a formal investigation under European competition law.
About half of the 2.5 million new cars sold in Britain every year come with a "dealer-based extended warranty", under which the car must be serviced at a garage belonging to the manufacturer's franchised dealer network for the warranty to be valid, the OFT said in a statement.
"Servicing at franchised dealers is generally more expensive than servicing at independent garages, averaging 199 pounds and 116 pounds respectively," the OFT said as it published the results of a six-month investigation into car warranties.
The OFT has also just completed an investigation into extended warranties on electrical goods, which also concluded they were poor value. The UK government is expected to announce curbs on the sale of extended warranties later on Wednesday or Thursday. (Reporting by Mark Potter, editing by Greg Mahlich;
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